Bread & Butter: As summer approaches, food fests start cooking

You know summer is around the corner when the food festivals start in earnest. First up is the Marin Greek Festival from May 24 to 26 with authentic Greek specialties in abundance.

"Let's Do Lunch Greek-Style" is from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. May 24 followed by the a la carte food and wine pairing "Food of the Gods — Fruit of the Vine," from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.; $15 purchased in advance.

Admission is free from 5 to 10 p.m. May 24; admission is $6 on May 25 and 26, a portion of which benefits Homeward Bound of Marin.

The festival is at the Nativity of Christ Greek Orthodox Christian Church at 1110 Highland Dr. in Novato. Call 883-1998 or go to www.nativity ofchrist.org/festival.

Taste the Town

Free food and prizes await at the annual Taste of Town Center in Corte Madera from noon to 2 p.m. May 25. Enter to win a special offering at each of the participating restaurants just by filling out a form for a drawing. Prizes range from gift cards from $10 to $100, lunch and beverage, a gift basket and more.

Even if you don't win, you can enjoy sampling tasty bites such as ahi macadamia poke, bruschetta al pomodoro, chicken pot stickers and quesadillas, Parisian salad and croque monsieur, churros, chicken taquitos, spring rolls and sip fresh juices and iced coffees. Entrance is free. The Corte Madera Town Center is at 100 Town Center in Corte Madera. Call 924-2961 or go to www.shoptowncenter.com.

Flowers and Food

May 26 marks Larkspur's annual Flower and Food Festival, and its Marin Salsa Tasting Competition is back. The competition will feature local chefs in competition for the People's Choice Award. Then enjoy some salsa music after the winner is named. It costs $1 to be part of the tasting; entrance is free.

The salsa tasting is from 2 and 4 p.m.; the festival with floral bouquets, gourmet food samples and flower-related arts and crafts, is from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Magnolia Avenue between Ward and King streets in downtown Larkspur. Call 924-3803 or go to www.teamproevent.com.

New icy treats

Another mark of summer is a craving for cold treats, and San Rafael's Three Twins Ice Cream is expanding its organic fair-trade line with new flavors, milk coffee and chocolate malt (16-ounce pints from $4.49) and ice cream sandwiches in two flavors, a fair-trade certified chocolate chip cookie with vanilla bean ice cream and a sugar cookie with sea salted caramel ice cream (single packs at $1.99 and a four-pack from $5.99).

For more information and to find a retailer, go to www.threetwins icecream.com.

Taco Jane's turns 15

Congratulations to San Anselmo's Taco Jane for 15 years of serving regional, family-style Mexican dishes. Fairfax resident and owner Matthew "Matteo" Boussina named the restaurant after his mother who was known for her taco recipes.

Taco Jane's at 21 Tamalpais Ave. in San Anselmo. Call 454-6562 or go to www.tacojanes.com.

Pizza king

Kudos to Papa Murphy's, the take-and-bake pizza chain that has come up No. 1 in two ways — it was ranked the top food chain in the 2013 Consumer Restaurant Brand Metric ranking by Technomic as well as tops in the 2013 Consumer Picks survey by Nation's Restaurant News and WD Partners.

There are two Papa Murphy's stores in Marin, at 318 Bon Air Center in Greenbrae (461-1731) and 922 Diablo Ave. in Novato (892-6999). For more information, go to www.papamurphys.com.